New Music Interview: Strong Asian Mothers

February 26, 2018

There’s no getting away from it: February is a bleak month. Thank goodness, then, for Strong Asian Mothers‘ eclectic strand of indie-electro – a gleaming fusion that can make even the greyest day feel busy with colour.

The London trio – comprised of Kalim “Khushi” Patel (vocals/keys), Josh Stadlen (drums) and Amer Chadha-Patel (keys/samples/vocals) – have long been favourites at Hidden Herd HQ, and their latest offering ‘Hard to Find’ is arguably their finest three and a half minutes yet thanks to twinkling electro-beeps, a slick beat and one towering chorus.

‘Hard to Find’ is a hook-loaded delight. How did the track come about?

“Khushi actually wrote it as a song for his solo project and at that point was in a vastly different form – then over time it transformed into a synth-laden alt-pop banger. We got together as Strong Asian Mothers and realised it might work better as one of ours. So we sprinkled some more salt and pepper on it and made it into the glittery power punch you now know!”

“Khushi and Amar wanted a musical project that allowed them to jump about on stage to loud beats and make them warehouse party royalty. Initially, nothing was off that table. Very quickly we asked Josh to join because he produced an epic Queen remix (which we’ll open with on Wednesday) and we wanted to play it. Then we realised he was the best musician in the world so we had to keep him in the band.”

What inspired your name?

“Khushi and Amar grew up together with other like-minded young rapscallions who all had Indian mothers. We used to go on epic English countryside holidays with our mums and freak out locals in the 80s and it seemed an appropriate homage to them. But really we owe credit to Amar’s girlfriend Suki, as she came up with it. Before that, we were gonna call ourselves Mango Smugglers… 🤷🏾‍♂️”

Who are the Top 5 biggest influences on your sound right now?

“Oh, probably, Kendrick Lamar and everything he has ever done production-wise. We also have a soft spot for James Blake. We’ve been listening to a lot of guilty pleasure trap-hop like Post Malone and Travis Scott, and Solange and Blood Orange are faves. But we’re also jamming hard to Jethro Tull and Free like some old 70s dad rockers, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag.”

Any other new artists you have played with and would recommend?

“Francobollo are the best grunge alt-rock band of all time and have the most audacious energy and truth in their performances. We’ve also played with Temptress and Venture Lows recently, who are both great as well.”